Pense livre (Pensez librement) – Pour une politique des drogues efficace

Le Réseau Pense Livre a pour objectif de promouvoir un large débat sur les questions de politiques en matière de drogues.Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

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On September 18 the “Pense Livre (Think Free) Network - For Drug Policy that Works” – will be launched at the Itaú Cultural Auditorium in Sao Paulo. The Pense Livre Network aims to promote a broad and critical debate on drug policy. It brings together more than 60 young leaders from across Brazilian society including business-people, journalists, filmmakers, doctors, psychologists, activists, researchers, lawyers and others (check out the list of participants at the end of this document).

The launch will be open to the public via registration (subject to space) and will be webcast live from 7 to 9:30 pm. The event will feature presentations by selected members of the Network including personal deliver statements on the dynamics of drug policy, about their personal involvement and the role of the media, besides discussing the media's role in the issue. The closing statement will be issued by former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

“The Pense Livre Network is aware of the complexity of the drug issue. We acknowledge that the current policy of criminalizing drug users does more damage to individuals and to society than the drug use itself. For this reason, our group stands for innovation and the development of better practices based on scientific evidence and successful international experience. Only then we will begin to break the vicious cycle of marginalization, corruption, incarceration and violence that results from a repressive approach to controlling drugs”, explains Ilona Szabó de Carvalho, Pense Livre’s co-founder and executive director of Igarapé Institute, an NGO based in Rio de Janeiro that coordinates the network.

Pense Livre Network promotes a positive agenda with four main objectives:

• Decriminalize the use of all drugs and invest in prevention and a public health approach for problematic users: Decriminalization is the first step for genuinely changing drug policy. This is because the criminalization of drug users results in overpopulated prisons and the diversion of resources away from medical and psycho-social treatment for drug addicts. The Pense Livre Network believes that the decriminalization of drug use should be supported by honest education and a wide range of harm reduction and treatment programs provided by the public health system.
• Regulate the medical use of cannabis and allow cannabis cultivation for personal consumption: Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Brazil and the cause of a large proportion of Brazil´s prison population. The Pense Livre Network believes that private cultivation is a practical way to de-link users from organized criminals. There is good evidence to back up such a policy. From a scientific perspective, cannabis causes less damage to users than most common legal drugs, including alcohol or tobacco. What is more, cannabis’s medicinal properties are proven and already benefit millions of patients in countries around the world.
• Invest in programs for youth at risk, including the meaningful reintegration of teenagers convicted for small-scale drug dealing and alternative sentencing for first time non-violent offenders. The fact is that Brazil´s juvenile justice and prison system is over-loaded. Instead of filling them even more, what is needed are programs that instead create the conditions for rescuing marginalized Brazilian youth from a life of crime. This will require a social pact that ensures education and assistance programs and real genuine opportunities for at-risk youngsters to join the labor market.
• Support scientific research on all illegal drugs in order to develop informed and targeted programs that promote harm reduction and treatment. In Brazil and other countries, the barriers for medical research on illicit substances present a major obstacle to the development of effective public and mental health programs. The Pense Livre Network encourages a more progressive approach from Brazilian authorities.

"The proposals of the Pense Livre Network are the result of an ongoing process of learning, debate and consensus building among a group of people with distinctive professional trajectories and political points of view. Our positive agenda indicates that a wide cross-section of Brazilian society is willing to discuss how to improve how we deal with the drug issue”, says Ilona Szabó de Carvalho.

The Pense Livre Network is also launching a blog (www.oesquema.com.br/penselivre) that serve as a platform for information and debate on drug policy. The Network will publish articles, mobilize research, highlight international and national experiences with innovative drug policy, and promote public events and mobilization to move Brazil forward on this critical issue.

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